Megascale engineering (or macro-engineering) is a form of exploratory engineering concerned with the construction of structures on an enormous scale. Typically these structures are at least in length—in other words, at least one megameter, hence the name. Such large-scale structures are termed megastructures.
In addition to large-scale structures, megascale engineering is also defined as including the transformation of entire planets into a human-habitable environment, a process known as terraforming or planetary engineering. This might also include transformation of the surface conditions, changes in the planetary orbit, and structures in orbit intended to modify the energy balance.
Astroengineering is the extension of megascale engineering to megastructures on a stellar scale or larger, such as Dyson spheres, Ringworlds, and Alderson disks.
Several megascale structure concepts such as Dyson spheres, Dyson swarms, and Matrioshka brains would likely be built upon space-based solar power satellites. Other planetary engineering or interstellar transportation concepts would likely require space-based solar power satellites and the accompanying space logistics infrastructure for their power or construction.
Megascale engineering often plays a major part in the plot of science fiction movies and books. The micro-gravity environment of outer space provides several potential benefits for the engineering of these structures. These include minimizing the loads on the structure, the availability of large quantities of raw materials in the form of asteroids, and an ample supply of energy from the Sun. The capabilities to employ these advantages are not yet available, however, so they provide material for science fiction themes.
Quite a few megastructures have been designed on paper as exploratory engineering. However, the list of existing and planned megastructures is complicated by classifying what exactly constitutes a megastructure. By strict definition, no megastructures currently exist (with the space elevator being the only such project under serious consideration).
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vignette|Représentation d'artiste d'un anneau orbital. Une mégastructure est, en science-fiction et en ingénierie à grande échelle, une construction artificielle autosuffisante de très grandes dimensions, au moins de l'ordre de plusieurs kilomètres et pouvant atteindre le millier voire le million de kilomètres. La définition est plutôt informelle et varie selon les sources, mais exige généralement au moins que les dimensions soient dans les centaines de kilomètres.
L'astroingénierie est, en astronautique, un domaine d'ingénierie visant l'intervention sur des objets célestes (astéroïdes, lunes, planètes, étoiles voire des galaxies entières). Ces procédés sont particulièrement présents en science-fiction, bien que cette discipline soit le sujet de recherches et d'exploration de concepts. vignette|redresse=0.5|Sphère de Dyson. vignette|redresse=0.5|Disque d'Alderson. vignette|redresse=0.5|Plan simplifié d'un anneau orbital.
Un cerveau matriochka est une mégastructure hypothétique proposée par Robert Bradbury, fondée sur la sphère de Dyson et dotée d'une capacité informatique immense. Il capte toute l'énergie produite par une étoile pour faire fonctionner ses systèmes informatiques. Le concept tire son nom des poupées russes, les matriochkas. Le terme cerveau matriochka a été forgé par Robert Bradbury comme alternative au « cerveau de Jupiter », un concept identique mais à l'échelle planétaire.
Informed by longstanding artistic practice, this doctoral thesis approaches entanglements of Swiss coloniality in Brazil and Switzerland under the lens of land, archive, and visuality. The enduring legacies of imperial capitalism in the former Colonia Leop ...
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Chemical modification such as intercalation or doping of novel materials is of great importance for exploratory material science and applications in various fields of physics and chemistry. Herein, the systematic intercalation of chemically exfoliated few- ...